Yann Lerner hopes his experience in the saddle at Sha Tin two decades ago can give him a valuable edge when he saddles his first runner at the Hong Kong International Races on Sunday.

Yann, who trains with his father Carlos, returned two winners during his short stint as Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s retained rider in Hong Kong in 2004.

He returns to the city as a 39-year-old handler with elite-level winner Calif, who will bid to dethrone Romantic Warrior in the Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m).

“It was a dream to have a runner here and now I have one in the Hong Kong Cup. It’s a very cool moment,” Lerner said.

“I was here 20 years ago as a very young jockey and it’s a very big pleasure to come here for the first time as a trainer. I’m looking forward to catching up with a few old friends and to Sunday’s race.”

At a time when the likes of Gerald Mosse, Eric Saint-Martin and Olivier Doleuze had created a lofty reputation for French jockeys in Hong Kong, Lerner made the trip over to the city to enhance his skills as a 19-year-old.

He steered the Yiu-trained Porter Ricks to success to open his account in the city in September 2004 before capturing a second win aboard the Derek Cruz-trained Brown Beauty two months later.

“It’s great to come back and to bring Calif as well,” Lerner said. “The horse hasn’t run a lot this season and he is fresh, which is very important for me. We will see how he will manage this track.”

The five-year-old son of Areion joined Lerner after time in Germany and a campaign in the Middle East and got off to a perfect start for his new yard at Group Three level at Longchamp in June.

Calif registered a dominant win in the Group Three La Coupe (2,000m) under Hong Kong’s newest rider, Alexis Pouchin, before breaking through at the top level in Munich at the end of July.

Tracking the leaders on the soft ground, Calif responded powerfully to the urgings of Adrie de Vries, who rides on Sunday, to hold off Fantastic Moon over the 2,000m contest.

He failed to land a blow on his penultimate start when fourth in the Group Two Prix Dollar (2,000m) before defying an awkward start to run on well into third in the Group Two Bahrain International Trophy (2,000m) last month.

Calif will reoppose the winner of the Bahrain International Trophy, Spirit Dancer, when he jumps from barrier eight in the HK$40 million Cup at Sha Tin.

“He looks in very good condition and he’s very happy here, so we will try our best,” Lerner said.

“His run in Bahrain was very good and at the beginning of the race when the stalls opened, he nearly fell, and that’s why he was very far back. But, even so, he finished very well in the race.

“On Sunday, the field is definitely very strong, but hopefully he can run a nice race.”

While Calif will be looking to become only the fourth French-trained winner of the Cup after the victories of Jim And Tonic (1999), Pride (2006) and Vision D’Etat (2009), Marquisat and Iresine have the chance to add to the country’s superb record in the Group One Longines Hong Kong Vase (2,400m).

France has claimed 11 victories in the Vase and last year’s winning trainer, Andre Fabre, will be hoping Marquisat can repeat Junko’s success from 12 months ago.

The four-year-old son of Zarak is a three-time winner from eight outings and came within a nose of Junko in June’s Group Two Grand Prix de Chantilly (2,400m)

He will be ridden by Wednesday’s International Jockeys’ Championship winner, Mickael Barzalona, who hopes he can bounce back from a disappointing effort in last month’s Group One Grosser Preis von Bayern (2,400m).

“When we look at the result of the [Vase] last year with Junko winning, Marquisat ran very well against him at Chantilly and was only beaten by a nose, so his form is strong,” Barzalona said.

“It’s only the last run which was a bit disappointing. There wasn’t really many excuses and I don’t really know what happened, but he definitely didn’t show his best.

“The ground won’t be an issue at all. In Chantilly it was good ground and he should handle it on Sunday.”